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September 29, 2003

New FAA Center of Excellence Includes Boise State, MIT and Stanford

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Boise State University will partner with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and five other research universities in a new Federal Aviation Administration research center.     The U.S. Department of Transportation�s FAA has created a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Aircraft Noise and Aviation Emissions Mitigation. The Center of Excellence is considered a world-class partnership of academia, industry and government created to identify solutions for existing and anticipated aircraft noise and emissions-related problems. The center will conduct basic research and engineering development and will formulate prototype solutions.     �The center brings the formidable resources of academia and industry together to make significant contributions in noise and emissions research,� said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey. �We look forward to working with these talented scientists throughout the country as we solve these critical issues.�     Boise State electrical engineering professor Joe Hartman and mechanical engineering professor Paul Dawson are the Boise State investigators for the Center of Excellence. Their experience on existing Environmental Protection Agency grants � Hartman on chemical sensing technology and Dawson on air quality modeling � helped them succeed in the highly competitive selection process for this new Center.     �This is a tremendous achievement for Boise State University, and one that will help highlight the capabilities of our impressive engineering programs,� said College of Engineering Dean Cheryl Schrader. �This new Center of Excellence enables our own College of Engineering to partner with top universities in the country, industry and government on research that directly impacts each one of us.�     The partnership will be led by MIT. In addition to Boise State and Stanford the other members from academia are Florida International, Penn State, Purdue, Central Florida and the University of Missouri�Rolla.     The center�s research and development efforts will concentrate on a broad spectrum of noise and emissions mitigation issues, including socio-economic effects, noise-abatement flight procedures, compatible land-use management, airport operational controls and atmospheric and health effects.     Hartman coordinated the portion of the proposal covering research on aircraft emissions measurements, working with seven investigators from the five universities involved in the emissions portion.     �It was a pleasure to work on such a cooperative team of world-class scientists on the proposal portion, and we look forward to growing this center with our partners,� said Hartman. �Typically, the FAA centers start with $1 million or less initial funding and then grow substantially. The five existing FAA centers have been responsible for more than $120 million worth of research since 1995.�     The Center for Excellence is expected to begin operation this month. The FAA will share in the cost of the center, with funding spanning three to 10 years and totaling $900,000 to $1.75 million in the first year, and a minimum of $800,000 per year for the next two years.     Dawson pointed out the research support from the FAA will advance air quality modeling efforts in the Treasure Valley. �For the EPA grant, we have been focusing on the meteorological modeling; for the FAA grant, we will also focus on the air quality modeling, which uses the meteorology results and the emissions data as inputs to the modeling,� he said.     The 18 industry partners in the new center are American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerodyne Research Inc., Bell Helicopter Textron, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Gulfstream Aerospace, Logistics Management Institute, Metron Aviation, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Pratt & Whitney, Raisbeck Engineering, Rannoch Corp., Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County, Rolls-Royce, Sikorsky Aircraft, Wyle Laboratories, and United Parcel Service.       Congress authorized Air Transportation Centers of Excellence under the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering and Development Authorization Act of 1990. This broad legislation enables the FAA to work with universities and their industry partners to conduct research in airspace and airport planning and design, environment and aviation safety, as well as to engage in other activities to assure a safe and efficient air transportation system.     �BSU�s engineering program is to be commended for securing a partnership with such prestigious programs in this cooperative research center,� said U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho). �Besides the benefits to the FAA, it will also help Treasure Valley researchers better understand the dynamics of the air-quality issues in the region.�     The FAA has established five other Centers of Excellence, focusing on computational modeling of aircraft structures, airport pavement technology, operations research, airworthiness assurance and general aviation.     For more information about the FAA Centers of Excellence program, visit www.coe.faa.gov. -30- Contact                                    Media contacts Joe Hartman                             Pat Pyke College of Engineering               communications and marketing    208 426-5714                            208 426-1987 jhartman@boisestate.edu          ppyke@boisestate.edu Cheryl Schrader                         Bob Evancho College of Engineering dean        University Relations 208 426-1153                             208 426-1643 Schrader@boisestate.edu           bevanch@boisestate.edu Tammy Jones FAA 202 267-3883

Last reviewed on Thursday, July 21, 2005